Legal Issues In The "301 Investigations" Of The United States Against China

In August 2017,the United States Trade Representative Office launched the sixth "301 investigation" against China in accordance with Section301 of the United States Trade Law of 1974.The investigation found that the laws,policies and practices of the Chinese government in the fields of technology transfer,intellectual property rights and innovation have harmed the interests of the United States,and it further implemented "relief measures" such as tariffs and investment restrictions based on the investigation results.In this context,this paper studies the legal issues of the 301 Investigations of the United States against China,including substantive and procedural issues,which are of great significance for China to put forward feasible and effective coping strategies.Firstly,this paper introduces the origin of the 301 investigation,its current situation,and China's response to the 301 investigations.Secondly,it analyses and demonstrates the substantive and procedural issues of the US 301 investigations against China.The substantive issues mainly include four aspects: whether the purpose of the investigation is for trade protection or freedom of trade,whether the nature of the investigation is legal,whether the criteria of the investigation are accurate identification or discretion,and whether the application of the investigation is discriminatory.Procedural issues focus on the conflict between 301 investigation procedure and 301 clause procedural rules,301 investigation procedure and international conventions,301 investigation hearing procedure participation,301 investigation evidence adoption and proof standard.Finally,since the "301 investigation" sanctions in the United State was illegal and exerted negative impact on China,this paper puts forward some suggestions and strategies from the perspectives of the government,enterprises and industry associations.Based on the analysis of the legal issues of the entity and procedure of the 301 investigations,this paper holds that the sanctions of the United States on the 301 investigations against China are in conflict with the provisions of the "301 clause" itself,and in many ways inconsistent with the existing provisions of the WTO multilateral trading system.The U.S.301 investigations sanctions have damaged the economic and trading interests of China and the United States,contrary to the expectation of the international community to resolve trade disputes through the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.